I am not that jazzed about March Madness. Anyone who thinks that a college football playoff will be much better than the BCS will find the truth about that statement simply by looking at what is happening in the basketball tournament. The non-BCS conferences netted a total of four of the at-large spots. None of those teams advanced to the second round. It may be fewer, if any in 2010.
What is really happening, and you can see it here in Utah, is that more and more the bigger schools are netting the best players out of high school. Remember the Burgess incident at BYU/Duke all of those years ago? And what did Burgess do for Duke? Is it better for a high school star to go to Notre Dame and ride the pine than to get minimal exposure at a place like Utah State?
For every Matt Cassel, there are hundreds who have parents paying good money for out of state tuition just to see their kid ride the bench for five years. For every Rudy, there are hundreds of kids dropping out of college without ever putting on a uniform.
If the same kids would stay in Wyoming, or South Dakota or wherever and get a scholarship they would at least have a free education...something that you can not put a price on. Their parents would be able to retire without being a door greeter at Wal-Mart. And being in the starting line-up would indeed give them a chance at the NFL. I have seen scouts at Weber State games...they are not hard to spot. They have clipboards and stop watches. The best chance a kid has at being exposed to NFL scouts is in the starting line-up at any college. The best chance at getting a career is a degree from any college...it also offers a better chance at medical school, law school or business school.
